Swedish expo centre reinvests profits

The number of exhibition visitors at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in Gothenburg, including Gothia Towers, rose 5% in 2017 to 1.8 million, boosting turnover to €129 million and revenues raised for the tourism industry to €322 million.

Profit after depreciation stood at €12 million for the year. The centre says that “a strong cashflow” of €19 million meant that in 2017 it was able to reinvest €20 million in the facilities including new premises, a new restaurant concept, a new entrance and measures to increase digitalisation.

These results are backed by “successful exhibitions” in the industrial and social sectors and a hotel business that has continued to show strong growth over the last year, the centre said.

International meetings and congresses also contributed to this development. One example was ECOC, the largest fibre optic congress in Europe, which brought 4,000 visitors from Europe, Asia and North America to Gothenburg for five days.

Meetings in the digital world
“These results show that we are continuing to attract new visitors and business to Gothenburg. The increase in visitors to exhibitions is a sign that physical meeting places where people can meet in person are increasingly important in the digital world,” says Carin Kindbom, president and chief executive of the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre.

“The strong visitor numbers also show that we need to continue growing.”

According to calculations, the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre contributed just over 2,100 full-time jobs in the Gothenburg region. The centre celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2018.